§ 33E-14. Exemptions and credits.

(a)

Governmental or public facilities are exempt from the requirement that impact fees be paid. Such facilities are those parcels, grounds, buildings or structures owned by municipal, County, State and federal governments, the Miami-Dade County School Board and the South Florida Water Management District and related to the operation of those entities and used for governmental purposes including, but not limited to, governmental offices, police and fire stations, airports, seaports, parking facilities, equipment yards, sanitation facilities, water control structures, schools, parks and similar facilities in or through which general government operations are conducted. It is provided, however, the following shall not be considered governmental or public facilities and shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter: (1) privately owned properties or facilities leased for governmental operations or activities; and (2) public properties or facilities used for private residential, commercial or industrial activities. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the application of the road impact fee to facilities at a County owned airport used for private commercial or industrial activities shall be limited to the extent permitted by federal law or existing contractual commitments with the Federal Aviation Administration.

(b)

Unless provided for to the contrary in the current effective development order, all development activity which is subject to an existing Development of Regional Impact Development Order adopted pursuant to Chapter 380, Florida Statutes prior to June 4, 1989 shall be exempt from this chapter with regard to development approved by such development order. This exemption provision does not apply to those development orders which may have been revoked or determined to be null and void or to any development not authorized in such development order by Miami-Dade County or another unit of local government in Miami-Dade County issuing such development order. This exemption shall not apply to any additional development regardless of whether or not such additional development constitutes a substantial deviation pursuant to Chapter 380, Florida Statutes. Any Development of Regional Impact development order amended after January 1, 2009, which generates additional vehicular trips above the previously approved development order shall be not be exempt for said additional trips.

(c)

Credit for up to the full amount of the net road cost portion of the impact fee shall be given by the County Public Works Director for off-site roadway contributions, or payments that were voluntarily proffered or required under a county or municipal development order issued for a development of regional impact or development of county impact or under other legislative or ministerial action approved prior to June 4, 1989. Credit shall be given to the extent the contribution, payment or construction meets the definition of off-site roadway improvement contained in Section 33E-5(n) of this chapter. Any claim for credit pursuant to this section must be filed with the County Public Works Director by May 23, 1990, and shall be in accord with the standards and procedures for issuance of credits provided therein. Credits shall not be applied to the two (2) percent county administrative cost portion of the impact fee which remains the responsibility of the feepayer and must be paid at the time of the building permit issuance. A credit shall only be considered against the fee due for improvement to those properties encompassed by the previous development order or action contemplating the off-site roadway improvements. Any feepayer claiming such credit shall present documentation of land valuation at time of roadway improvement and/or construction costs, adjusted to current United States dollar values as defined in the impact fee manual. The same shall be considered by the County Public Works Director in determining the amount of credit to be given toward the impact fee. The County Public Works Director shall be guided by the criteria set forth in the impact fee manual. No refunds shall be made under this provision of this section. Any appeal from such a determination by the County Public Works Director shall be reviewed by the Developmental Impact Committee Executive Council pursuant to the procedures set forth in the adopted impact fee manual.

Where a feepayer seeks to apply a credit against payment of the road impact fee, the administrative fee portion of the impact fee shall be the sum of: (a) two (2) percent of the credit or one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) whichever is less and (b) two (2) percent of the remaining net road cost not satisfied by the credit.

Previously approved off-site road impact fee credits which are: (1) unused and (2) based on a net road cost which has been subsequently adjusted, shall be entitled to an adjustment equal to the percentage increase or decrease of the net road cost in the road impact fee formula. Any such adjustment shall only be utilized to offset road impact fees and shall not be refundable.

(d)

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, development activity shall be exempt from the requirement of payment of road impact fees upon a determination by the County Planning and Zoning Director that such activity conforms to the following requirements:

(1)

The development activity is consistent with the Comprehensive Development Master Plan (CDMP); and

(2)

Any portion of a residential development activity, which provides affordable housing as defined in Section 33E-5 provided that:

a.

There shall be no affordable housing exemption for a housing unit priced at more than seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000.00) unless approved by a governmental assistance program for a higher amount; and

b.

There shall be no affordable housing exemption for a housing unit occupied by persons, families or households having total household assets (excluding pensions, annuities and the like) exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) unless a governmental assistance program has approved a different amount; and

c.

Applicant must obtain such third party approvals as may be required by the County Planning and Zoning Director or as provided in the road impact fee manual; and

d.

Applicant must covenant with the county that the housing unit will remain affordable as defined in Section 33E-5 for a period of fifteen (15) years. Other such covenants and agreements may be required as provided in the road impact fee manual or by the County Planning and Zoning Department Director to insure that affordable housing purpose of the exemption is maintained. Housing units that lose their affordable housing status prior to the expiration of five (5) years from the date the exemption was granted shall be subject to payment of the road impact fee in effect at the time said affordable status was lost and the County Planning and Zoning Director shall be authorized to lien the property if necessary to secure payment of the fee; or

(3)

Any commercial or industrial development activity located within an existing designated enterprise zone as defined in Section 290.0065, Florida Statutes, as the same may be amended from time to time, and as approved pursuant to Ch. 2015-221, Laws of Fla., provided that: (a) the proposed development activity has been deemed to have been granted a property tax exemption under Section 29-84(c) of this code; and (b) the feepayer has furnished all the documentation required by the County Planning and Zoning Director and has executed a covenant running with the land, in a form approved by the County Planning and Zoning Director, obligating the feepayer, its successors and assigns to comply with the employee residency requirements of Sections 29-83(a) and 29-84(b) of this code for a minimum of 5 years; or

(4)

Any commercial or industrial development activity located within an area approved for tax increment financing in accordance with Chapter 30-A of the Code of Miami-Dade County as the same may be amended, in which the development activity has made specific expenditures from tax increment dollars for improvements to the collector or arterial roadway systems as identified in Section 33E-12 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, as the same may be amended. The total amount of exemption shall not exceed the total expenditure from tax increment dollars for capacity improvements to the collector or arterial roadway system; or

(5)

Any development activity for which the computed road impact fee amount is less than fifty dollars ($50.00); or

(6)

Any house move originating within Miami-Dade County; or

(7)

Any tie-down permit for a mobile home that was legally in place at the permit location on June 4, 1989, or any tie-down permit for which documentation is provided that a road impact fee has been previously paid for a mobile home at the same permit location; or

(8)

Any alteration, replacement or expansion of an existing structure or the addition of an accessory building shall be exempted provided that the land use has not changed and no additional units are created and no additional vehicle trips are generated pursuant to tables 100 or 100-A in Section 33E-8.

(e)

If an exemption is sought pursuant to Section 33E-14(d)(1), (2), (3), and (4), road impact fees shall be paid prior to the issuance of the building permit. However, the feepayer shall be entitled to a refund pursuant to this chapter upon submitting a formal application for a refund to and receiving approval from the County Planning and Zoning Director, on a form acceptable to the Director.

(1)

Application for a refund under Section 33E-14 shall be made within 1 year of the issuance of a certificate of completion, certificate of occupancy, or certificate of use for the building, whichever is later.

a.

If the commercial or industrial development activity for which exemption is sought pursuant to Section 33E-14(d)(3) entails an aggregation of multiple commercial or industrial uses to satisfy the job creation requirements under Sections 29-81 through 29-89 of this code, the application for a refund must be made within 1 year of the issuance of the most recent certificate of use being used to satisfy the job creation requirements; but in no event shall such application for refund be approved if submitted more than 18 months after the issuance of the certificate of occupancy for the building in which the development activity is taking place.

b.

Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, any commercial or industrial development activity that seeks exemption pursuant to Section 33E-14(d)(3) and that, as determined by the County Planning and Zoning Director, is reasonably anticipated to produce at least 100 new full-time jobs may, at the time of building permit application, apply to the County Planning and Zoning Director for deferral of payment of up to 75 percent of the assessed impact fees until issuance of the earlier of the first temporary certificate of occupancy or the first certificate of occupancy for the development activity. The feepayer shall submit the application for deferral on a form acceptable to the Planning and Zoning Director, together with any applicable administrative fee and the following materials: documentation demonstrating that the commercial or development activity is reasonably anticipated to produce at least 100 full-time jobs through the leasing or operation of the proposed use or aggregation of multiple commercial or industrial uses: a declaration of restrictive covenants running with the land that (i) requires payment of the impact fee balance prior to the issuance by the County or applicable municipality of a temporary certificate of occupancy or certificate of occupancy, whichever is earlier, (ii) provides that, if the development activity fails to produce the committed number of jobs when the final determination on the exemption set forth in Section 33E-14(d)(3) is made, or fails to maintain the committed number of jobs for the 5-year period required under this section, then the County shall be entitled to recover an amount equivalent to the interest on the deferred or refunded amount at the rate set in accordance with Section 55.03 of the Florida Statutes, and (iii) requires payment of the deferred amount plus statutory interest at the time the subject property or portion thereof is conveyed; and a voluntary lien executed by the owner of the property that is subject to the road impact fee securing payment of the deferred portion of the road impact fee on a form provided by the County Public Works Director and filed in the Public Records of Miami-Dade County. The County or applicable municipality shall not issue a temporary certificate of occupancy or certificate of occupancy, whichever is earlier, until road impact fees have been paid in full. Refund of the full amount of the road impact fee, less administrative costs and any applicable convenience fees, may thereafter be sought pursuant to Section 33E-14(d)(3).

c.

Failure to apply for a refund by the feepayer within the above-referred period shall invalidate the right for a refund under this section.

(2)

Notwithstanding the aforesaid, if an exemption is sought pursuant to Section 33E-14(d)(2), community development corporations as defined in Section 290.033(2), Florida Statutes, and community-based organizations as defined in Section 420.602(4), Florida Statutes, that have received assistance from Miami-Dade County or the State of Florida in funding predevelopment costs to provide affordable housing to low and very low income families shall have the option of executing a covenant running with the land, in a form approved by the County Planning and Zoning Director, in lieu of payment of road impact fees prior to the issuance of the building permit. Joint ventures of either a community development corporation or a community based organization with a for-profit developer for the purpose of affordable housing development shall also have the right to execute the aforementioned covenant provided that the proposed affordable housing development for which an exemption is being sought has been approved by the Miami-Dade County Office of Community Development.

(f)

The applicant shall supply all documentation necessary to validate the requested exemption along with any additional documentation that may be required by the County Planning and Zoning Director.

(Ord. No. 88-112, § 1(14), 12-6-88; Ord. No. 89-130, § 1, 12-19-89; Ord. No. 92-149, § 1, 12-1-92; Ord. No. 92-153, § 1, 12-15-92; Ord. No. 94-134, § 1, 6-21-94; Ord. No. 94-185, § 1, 9-22-94; Ord. No. 95-215, § 1, 12-5-95; Ord. No. 96-116, § 1, 7-17-96; Ord. No. 98-125, § 26, 9-3-98; Ord. No. 99-92, § 1, 7-27-99; Ord. No. 09-08, § 11, 1-22-09; Ord. No. 15-144, § 1, 12-1-15; Ord. No. 16-120, § 1, 11-1-16)